Mortgages complaints remain high – but trend could be reversing

Although mortgages remain one of the most complained-about financial products, complaint volume is on the decrease

Mortgages remain one of the most complained-about financial products, but complaint volume is on the decrease, according to a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

According to the CFPB’s monthly consumer complaints report, mortgages were the third most complained-about financial product or service. There were 3,910 consumer complaints about mortgages in July; only debt collection and credit reporting received more. Taken together, complaints about debt collection, credit reporting and mortgages made up about 66% of the total complaint volume in July.

Individual companies were also singled out. Out of the 10 most complained-about companies, seven – Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Ocwen, Capital One and Nationstar – were either banks or nonbank mortgage companies.

It’s not all bad news, however – complaints about mortgages have dropped off significantly. July saw a 9% decrease in mortgage complaints over the prior month. And the three-month average of 4,159 is 7% lower than the average for the same period in 2015.

Individual companies saw their stats improve as well. Nationstar saw a 16% decline in its average complaint volume, and Ocwen saw its complaint volume drop by 24% – the largest drop among the most complained-about companies.